Bye for Now...

Geniya and I stayed up late looking at the scrapbook she had made, crying, laughing...when she was sad about leaving it broke my heart, but when we would talk about her parents, sister, and niece that she has never met, she would get excited and her eyes would sparkle. That comforted me.

Right now, I can picture Victor and Nadiya on the 16 hour bus ride from LuHansk to Boryspol....Yeah the Kiev airport is actually not in Kiev...I can't imagine the sacrifice they've made letting Geniya come to the US twice for a total of 5 years, so that she could get the help she needed. I don't think they will ever, this side of heaven, comprehend the impact on lives because of their sacrifice.

Because Geniya came, we adopted Tatiana. Tatiana was the only adoption from that orphanage in at least 12 years. Because of her adoption, and our unwillingness to forget those kids left behind, God brought Reach Orphans with Hope across our paths. Because of their desire to minister to orphans, and God bringing us and missionaries that work at this same orphanage to them, they started including that orphanage in their summer hosting program bringing several orphans from this orphanage to the US for a couple of weeks in the Summer. Because so many families came to help and serve at the hosting 'camp', many of these children have been, and are being adopted. They are coming to know Christ as Savior. They have hope that they never had before. Now the Americans are going there a couple times a year to have camp for all the orphans and more orphans will continue to come here for the two week hosting 'camp'. THIS IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE of the impact one family started by letting their little 7 year old girl leave them and go to the US 12 years ago.

There are countless other tangents of lives impacted, families changed…Bottom line, what God can do with one life that submits to His will at the sacrifice of their own is a global master piece. He pulls all the willing hearts together, not one more important than the other, and alters destinies and histories.

Geniya Goes Back to Ukraine

It's officially 12/17 and Geniya will be leaving in just a few hours. It seemed like forever when we were in the process of arranging for her to return to the USA. Right now the last two years seem like a fast blur...

I have a 'WHY' list for God a mile long, but that can wait. There are even more questions that we now have the answers to. If it weren't for Geniya, we wouldn't have Sophia, Tatiana, and Oksana. If it weren't for Geniya our world could very well be a lot smaller and self absorbed. If it weren't for having Geniya in our lives we couldn't understand really how much in our lives we can't control. If Geniya had never come, we wouldn't have witnessed unbelievable miracles unfold in how her medical care came about. We've seen a giving, caring; loving side of people that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. We've fought through medical issues, some that could be corrected, some that had to be accepted, and some that only gave us hope of better health for Geniya.

We've learned that the absence of conflict is not necessarily peace. We've learned that time alone does not heal all wounds; sometimes it takes wisdom and understanding. We've learned a lot about ourselves walking through the challenges that Geniya faces everyday. We've been challenged to empathize with things we can't always understand. We've learned to love despite impending loss. We've learned that love has many faces. It comes in many forms of emotions from care, concern, exasperation, celebration, confusion, determination, remorse, forgiveness… We've learned that the heart won't be comforted by what the head knows is true. Letting someone go, hurts. It hurts like you can't imagin.

I dread the next few weeks. I dread finding something of her's lying around the house, I dread forgetting and setting that extra place setting at the table, I dread thinking of the right thing to say too late, I dread coming home and no one being there, I dread not having someone ask me a million questions…..

But no matter what I dread about missing you, loving you, Geniya, is worth the pain of being separated. Don't forget that!!!

Of all the millions of people in the world, God knitted our family together, across oceans and continents. I am so thankful that this is not our home, and we will all be together someday.